Evolution of Psychology

Evolution of Psychology

Abstract

The current paper examined the how the evolution of psychology over time is reflected among the concepts of structuralism and functionalism. First, however, there is a discussion about how psychology evolved from ancient Greek philosophy. The paper review highlighted that psychology is not a single school of thought and draws on ideas from a range of theoretical backgrounds.

The following paper looks at how the evolution of psychology over time is reflected among the concepts of structuralism and functionalism. Furthermore one will discuss how psychology has its roots in ancient Greek philosophy.

Some of the earliest records in the attempt to understand human psychology can be found in works of ancient literature. The field of psychology derives its name from the Greek myth of Psyche. Psyche is variously translated as soul or spirit (or sometimes mind), the very essence of what it means to be human (Thorne, B & Henley, T, 1997). The Greeks and Romans have been known to be the promoters of the natural sciences and philosophy. Psychology stemmed from philosophy. The main concern of the discipline of psychology in ancient times was the [speculation of] the nature and locus of the mind, sensation and perception, memory, and learning (Hergenhahn, 2005). There existed a strong connection between psychology and medicine and physiology.

Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.), who is known as the father of medicine had an impact on both philosophy and physiology. He said that demons did not cause diseases and focused mainly on illness, including mental illness. He was interested in the nature of the mind and what its source is. Hippocrates viewed it as an entity that controls the body. He considered sensory and motor disorders were caused by injuries to the brain (Hothersall, 1984). Hippocrates was the first to suggest that the mind resides in the brain (Shultz, & Shultz, 2004).

Two contemporaries of Hippocrates, Plato (428-348 B.C.) and Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) both had effects on modern thinking in psychology. Aristotle engaged in intriguing conjecture about intelligence, emotions, memory and perceptions in his work Peri Psyches (About the Soul) (Hergenhahn, 2005). With regards to psychology Plato and Aristotle particularly impacted three areas; the relationship between the mind and the body, the use of observation versus introspection as a means of discovering the truth and thirdly; the question of what is the original source of our ideas (Goodwin, 2002)

Greek thought and practice thus laid the foundation for the modern disciplines to emerge. But it was only in the 19th century that psychology emerged as a scientific discipline. It was in 1879 that the German psychologist, Wilhelm Wundt, set out to make psychology an independent discipline from philosophy and physiology. By 1862 Wundt had written his first book on sense perception claiming that psychology would become science only if it employed the experimental method in the a study of its subject matter (at the time the workings of the mind) and that, additionally, the mind could be studied experimentally (Goodwin, 2002). Subsequently, in 1879 Wundt succeeded in establishing the first formal laboratory for research in psychology and its research findings published in a scholarly journal.

Wundt's new science involved studying elements of consciousness- the awareness of immediate experience. Just as physicists were studying how matter is made up of basic particles, Wundt attempted to identify the fundamental components of conscious experience such as sensation, perception, imagery and attention. Wundt viewed these as the basic elements of psychological functioning. Thus, psychology became the scientific study of conscious experience, focusing squarely on the minds ability to actively organise information. In Wundt's view, "the mind has the power to organise mental elements voluntarily" (Shultz & Shultz., 2004, p.112). One of Wundt's main interests was the process of apperception, an active, meaningful, and attentive perception of some event. Wundt called this style of psychology voluntarism'.

In order for Wundt to study conscious experience Wundt relied on a research method called "introspection" (literally looking within). Introspection was a rigorous process that involved training research participants to carefully observe and analyse one's own conscious experience, including, sensations, perceptions, emotional reactions and mental images under controlled conditions (Schultz & Shultz, 2004 ). Wundt claimed that by providing such training he could produce reliable, objective findings. Wundt's contribution must be acknowledged. He established psychology as an experimental science, independent of philosophy. He trained a great number of psychologists